The present invention relates to optical fiber products and, more particularly, to optical fiber deployment products and methods for using the same.
Optical fiber networks (e.g. Plastic, Glass, Multimode, Singlemode, etc.) are increasingly being installed to support high speed voice and data communications. As part of this effort, the optical fiber deployment is being expanded out from the central office of the communication service provider companies, such as Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs), to the subscriber locations, such as apartments or condominiums. Such subscriber locations are commonly referred to as multi-dwelling units (MDUs), where conventional copper wiring or coax was typically used. Upgrading existing structures from a copper network to a fiber optic network poses issues regarding suitable and acceptable pathways required to deliver optical fiber cabling compared to conventional single dwelling homes that typically route the fiber directly via aerial or buried cables.
Race ways, conduit and moldings have typically been used to create surface mounted pathways when existing concealed pathways can not be obtained or created. The goal of most MDU deployments is to preposition optical cables, required to deliver service, inside the structure as close to the subscriber(s)' unit(s) as possible during a construction phase. A secondary installation and maintenance phase occurs when subscribers choose to connect to the network and the installer connects the subscribers' respective electronics via an optical jumper to the prepositioned cable.
Current methods for prepositioning optical fibers typically include placing multiple cables inside the surface mounted pathways to accommodate the various subscriber termination points (apartment A, B, C, etc. . . . ) throughout the structure. These cables can quickly overwhelm the capacity of the pathway and in turn be difficult to manage (e.g., tangling of drop cables or the like). Single sheath solutions have been attempted as well, however these methods typically require cutting into the cable to access the specific optical fiber to be prepositioned at the various subscriber termination points throughout the structure. Single sheath methods, while they may address the congestion issue, generally require risky and labor intensive cutting procedures to open the cable.